Frome named Best Place to Live in the Southwest

Frome has once again been named the Best Place to Live in the Southwest of England. It is top of a list of ten locations in the region chosen by The Sunday Times in the annual Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide.

The Sunday Times’s expert judges behind the guide assess a wide range of factors, from schools, air quality, transport and broadband speeds to culture, green spaces, and the health of the high street.  They look for improving towns, villages, or city centres, for attractive, well designed homes and locations bursting with community spirit – which the pandemic has shown to be the most vital quality of all.  The guide highlights Frome as: “A pretty, cobbled town that likes its shops the way it likes its politicians — independent”.

Helen Davies, The Times and Sunday Times Property Editor said: “Frome has been named our regional winner because of its attractive, creative and energetic community. It is a town where everybody is keen to get involved.

“The Compassionate Frome project shows a caring side that has really come to the fore during the pandemic and sets an example that many towns should follow.”

Mayor of Frome, Anita Collier added: “What a great compliment to be winner of the South West region again.  Frome has shown such compassion and resilience in this past year; we’ve always had a great community spirit, and this has grown immensely during the pandemic with residents keeping an eye out for each other, neighbourhood networks springing up all over the town, and supporting our traders by shopping locally. I’m certainly very proud to be the Mayor of this wonderful town and I’m excited to see how we go from strength to strength as we head out of lockdown.”

The Sunday Times Best Places to Live 2021 is available online today and will be available in the paper on Sunday.

Picture credit: Ben Smith